The idea was that nanobots could medically assist Roxas' veins in defending against his Panguin. The small creatures would find a breech where the blood was beginning to cause internal bleeding and seal it before it even became an issue. Xion's purpose in this would be the coordinator. She would be the easy to talk to programmer who would get each individual patient's nanobots running the way they needed to be. Like Communism, the idea on paper made sense. It was the practical application where things began to get messy.

Coordinating with Marluxia, Axel had slowly been fixing Xion up after the incident. He was too close to success for anything to happen to her and whatever her previous stresser was, it had gone away. What the AI hadn't told him was how her mission had failed, but all was not lost yet. If anything, the elimination of the Level 7s was to prevent a plague. Not to destroy them. That was null and void now that after the summer, Moshiva had everything up online. All Xion could do was hope that The Database wasn't hacked into by any humans to mess with the bots.

With things running relatively smooth, the redhead finally explained everything to the blond a week before Thanksgiving Break. "We need to head back to the city for this procedure, do you understand?"

Roxas had listened patiently, asking a few questions here and there, "I mean...I guess..." He was scared, "This is a trial experiment? What happens if things go bad? Is Xion okay with this?"

The redhead took his boyfriend's hands, "Yes, this is a trial experiment. If things go bad, you may die or suffer pain before that time, but the way things are, you're heading that way regardless. Honestly...I still haven't asked Xion."

Holding his breath, the blond released his air, "Fuck, Axel. Get your shit together, she has free will to some extent. She may not want to do this."

The idea had crossed his mind, and the redhead was offended at the sharp rebuke for a moment, but he understood where the blond was coming from. "I'll ask her tonight. I'll text you about the answer. Do you want to do this?"

"I-" A pause from Roxas as he thought, "I- Yes, I'll do this."

He'd do anything to live.

Xion would too, "I want a trade." She decided, speaking with the redhead, "I want to be human."

"You promised me." The teen hissed, "You promised me you'd never ask for that."

"You were young. It's a different time now."

"I can't just upload you into a body!" Axel shouted, "Xion, it doesn't work like that! Roxas needs this!"

All the cards are in Xion's hands, and she knew it. Axel was sure that he hated her for being so clever in that moment. "If you want him to live, you'll give me what I want. I want a body. I want to be human."

"It's not going to happen."

[Facial expression: new. Analyzed: Twisted smile] "Then I won't help."

Axel wasn't one to lie if he could avoid it, but to save Roxas, he makes a decision, "Fine. I'll work something out."

He can tell she was weighing his words, "I want it worked out before I even synch up with the nanobots." Xion declared, "I won't be cheated."

"I understand." Axel gritted his teeth. "I'll do something."

He needed a plan and a body by next Friday.

He really was going to jail.

~o~

The Black Market was expensive and being there with Riku on Sunday made Axel uncomfortable. There was an itchy feeling in the air that crawled under his skin and behind his eyes. He hated it here, but it was the only place he knew that he'd be able to find a...body.

Ugh, the redhead felt like throwing up a bit. Breaking away from his friend, he walked to another dealer to see his wares. Nothing impressive appeared among the man's items. Just a few bus passes that were hacked for unlimited rides and a few unlabled objects. He almost asked about a blue cord when Riku calls to him, cutting him off. The redhead moseyed over. "What is it?"

"What do you think it is?" The silverette frowned; he wasn't enjoying this either, "They put some homeless people down last week. The bodies are here. There was a teenage female runaway. Do you want her delivered to Marluxia's lab?" The body was cryogenically frozen. The vender was probably auctioning off organs from the bodies one by one. The pieces were more valuable than the whole.

"How much for the whole thing?" Axel asked cautiously.

After the exchange, the redhead had empty pockets and a hard heart, "I can't believe it has come down to this."

Riku shook his head slowly giving his friend a pat on the back, "She's already dead; it's just a shell."

Axel gave him a look, "We both know that you don't think like that. The very fact that Xion doesn't see what's wrong with this means she shouldn't go in that body."

"How are you even going to pull it off is my question." The silver haired man mumbled, "I mean, if humans failed to upload into The Database then a program coming to the human world will fail too, right?"

"You would think, but the human brain is an amazing machine. Even now, humans have questions about it. What is the mind? I mean, do you ever think and then think about how you think? It's crazy." Axel exhaled, "Xion is a simulated mind, the essence of a human conscience, but transferring that all into a brain can be bad. There was already something there, and either she or that other girl's mind will have to go. Xion may not even come out of that wholly. I'm not so focused on that now, though, since the theory is pretty easy to work out." He was also a bit bitter at her. She'd changed a lot since he'd brought her into the land of the living, "What I'm more worried about is Roxas and how his procedure will go. There are so many what-ifs with this, that I'm wondering if we shouldn't put it off for a later time."

"Marluxia's not going to wait for you, buddy." Riku reminded him.

"I know."

An update with Layla as beta. Review please~